# 119-hr-726: Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2025

119-hr-726, Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Downing, Troy [R-MT-2] (R-MT); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-726
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-726
- Congress: 119
- Title: Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2025
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-01-24
- Sponsor: Rep. Downing, Troy [R-MT-2] (R-MT)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Native Americans
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-11-01

## Summary

**Reframes tribal MR&I funding into project-focused Accounts and locks tribal ownership of water infrastructure.** This bill would replace the MR&I System with a project-based MR&I framework, create a dedicated MR&I Projects Account, and clarify how funds are managed and used. - Crow Tribe: Would prioritize MR&I account money for planning, permitting, designing, constructing, reconstructing, replacing, rehabilitating, operating, or repairing on‑reservation domestic and wastewater water projects. After those on‑reservation projects are complete, remaining funds could be used to purchase on‑reservation land with water rights. - Tribal control and costs: Title, control, and operation of projects built with MR&I funds would remain with the Tribe. The federal government would have no obligation to pay for operation, maintenance, or replacement of those projects. - Funding and governance changes: Would repeal the standalone MR&I System, establish an MR&I Projects Account managed, invested, and distributed by the Secretary, require deposits into a special joint signature "MR&I Account" under the 2012 tribal agreement, and extend the Yellowtail Dam term from 15 years to 20 years.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Zinke, Ryan K. [R-MT-1] (R-MT), 2025-01-24T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Longer Yellowtail Dam repayment period: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would change the Yellowtail Dam term from 15 years to 20 years by amending the relevant statute. Spreading the same obligation over 20 years would likely lower yearly payments tied to that term. The text does not state specific dollar amounts.
- New tribal water projects account: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would create an MR&I Projects Account for the Crow Tribe as soon as practicable after enactment. The account would hold amounts appropriated after enactment and deposits required by the law, and those amounts must first go into the special joint signature "MR&I Account" establi…
- Remove old MR&I system rules: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would repeal section 406 of the 2010 Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act and remove its table of contents entry. The bill would also update agreement language so that only the agreement required by section 405(a) is referenced, removing the cross‑reference to the repealed se…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2570: Maximum Pressure Act
- 119-hr-907: Northern Montana Water Security Act of 2025
- 119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act
- 119-hr-9535: Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-hr-726 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/726)

## Related
- [119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6644)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-2570: Maximum Pressure Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2570)
- [119-hr-907: Northern Montana Water Security Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-907)
- [119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-137)
- [119-hr-9535: Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9535)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-726 (as of 2026-11-01).